Thursday morning came early and it was my pleasure to take Summer to the airport for her 8:30 flight into Washington, D.C. to start her 4 day vacation with Rayne and Sabrina.
She was all bright eyes and bushy tailed!!
I know and love that feeling of excited anticipation of leaving on a jet plane with an adventure in front of you.
I thought I'd go back to bed when I got home - we are a mere 7 minutes from DFW airport!
But, no, I was awake and thought I'd take advantage of these 'extra' hours in my day!
Son Jesse helped us order a new laptop for Louis Dean and then he came over Thursday to set it all up.
Louis Dean was so HAPPY!!!
I think it's awesome that he can navigate the Internet and use Microsoft Office to make his music sheets with all the chord notations. He checks his email and Facebook and dearly loves YouTube!!!
He says he can play with the best country singers in the world - right through his computer!
Jesse has the patience of Job! Seriously!
He is always calm and confident and inspires those same qualities in all who are around him....
including US!!
The greatest gift one can give - in my opinion - is the gift of TIME!
And that's what Jesse gave us over the last several days,
The gift of his time and his knowledge.
Friday morning Louis Dean was up and preparing for Jesse to arrive with a new printer for him.
This one was purchased several years ago and is big and bulky and has a seemingly permanent paper jam.
Out with the old in preparation of the new!
LD had built a rolling platform for this printer so when it was time to take it out - he just hitched one of his belts to it and pulled it through the bedroom and outside on the patio.
There's little hope of him actually getting RID of it! It will go in a storage building and be forgotten in another day or two.
I prettied up the den table and that's where I served a Chines lunch yesterday -
courtesy of Trader Joe's!
The day before we finished off the leftovers of our mini Thanksgiving Dinner with Jesse.
I love it when I have children eating at my table with me.
I've been doing some art and it's been hard to get to it!
The table has been set up for weeks but I have not painted every day as I meant to do.
Right now I am working on three canvases and hope to finish them during the two weeks we will be at the ranch.
Our gazebo has been looking rather shabby the last year or two and we have not used it as much as we normally do. Last year's heat and Louis Dean's acute illness and my sister Nita's death all put our family in survival mode so we didn't entertain and enjoy the gazebo much at all.
Now that we have a new cover and mosquito screens and rain curtains - it's looking really classy now.
It took a good while to figure out how to hang the screens and curtains as Louis Dean has reinforced our gazebo and added extra support that complicated the hanging of them.
We finally figured it out but with the extra support - the mosquito screens would not close on the back side.
No worries!
I hung a very long white lace 'thing' I had by cutting it in half and then pinning it together at intervals.
This will keep the flies and insects out as well as the screening will so Win! WIN!!
I love the Shabby Chic look of it all.
I save lots of textiles - and use them in different ways.
The rocking chairs are covered in a set of white lined curtains that were given to me after Jesse remodeled one of their bathrooms years ago.
I used them as curtains in place of a door on my tiny bathroom for a long time.
A $1 tea towel find at the Dollar Store and it makes a good accent on the rocking chair.
After church tomorrow, I'm going back to get another one or two or three.
I took this pic through the French doors in the sewing room.
Ahhhh.....our gazebo has returned and is inviting us out!
What took so long getting it all done was the electricity!
There's a switch that controls this chandelier.
The problem is that switch now controls the set of outlets across the gazebo which has the pond plugged in as well as the lamps on that side....and the fans!
It's felt like summer with highs in the 90's the last few days.
Fans are important - both to circulate the air - and to keep the flies at bay.
Turn the fans off - here come the flies in swarms!
I bought this light fixture years ago at a thrift store and I still love it!
Will be looking for more 'crystals' to hang from it when I am out thrifting.
Friday night's 'bedtime snack' aka supper!
BJ was sharing about her 'bedtime snacks' the other day and I can relate.
When Amber was a baby still in her crib, we would leave a Tommy Tippee cup of water or juice in the corner of her bed along with a snack - PBJ sandwich or cheese and crackers or raisins and Cherrios.
I left a snack beside her bed for years until she was old enough to set her own on her bedside table.
She opted for a drink container of ice water and granola bars and then later energy bars and other 'snackable things.'
It's funny how we continue to do what has always been.
To this day Amber keeps snacks beside her bed and always takes a 'night drink' to bed with her.
I did the same thing with Benjamin but I am not sure if that routine stuck with him like it did with Amber!
I don't snack but I do take 'Night Tea' to set beside my bed every night and it's usually empty by the time I get up.
Our family is a bunch of Big Gulpers!!
I fretted about a wildflower garden at the ranch and here it happens I have ine HERE in the city!
Can you see the honeybee in there??
I am still toying with the idea of having an apiary here in the city.
We have so many flowers and lots of bees!
Maybe next year!
Summer is having a great time in Washington, D.C.
Sabrina and Rayne arrived safely and they are taking in all the sights!
I'm loving all the pics from their trip there!!!
It's good to see Rayne and Sabrina!!!
Our Rayne Roo has grown into such an amazing young lady with a wide range of interests!
Our entertainment tonight was A Man Called Otto and it was really good!
Thank you, Summer, for setting us up where we can watch movies and programs on Netflix.....
between Summer and Amber - we have such a wide variety of programs and movies we can watch.
It's nearly time to go to bed.
I did some art tonight and then packed it all up and fluffed up the dining room.
We plan to go back down to the ranch soon and stay for two weeks.
I want to leave the house clean and I have doctor appointments next week before we can get out of town.
Our new roof is costing 3X what I was planning on spending so we are in 'Thought' mode as to what to do. Louis Dean is 87 this year and I will be 75. We do not need a top line best possible roof.
We only need one to shelter us for the next 10 years or so.
Things like replacing roofs cause one to think about just how long we will be using this world's comforts and dwellings.
I'm praying for the Lord to direct me in what we need to do in order to be good stewards of what he has given us.
Amen!
My goal is to live a life worthy of being called a Christ Follower.
Words are more important than we can possibly imagine.
Your table is beautiful, just like on a magazine cover. How wonderful that you have Jesse to help with tech things. We have to use tech people and spend big bucks.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful place to relax in. ❤️
ReplyDeleteI love all of your knick-naks! You both have worked hard setting up the sun room. And there's no way LD is 86!! Or You, 74! I guess it's true...80 is the new 60! It must be all the work you two do!
ReplyDeleteOh! Just a reminder! Ask your Jesse to take the hard drive Out of the old printer and destroy it! It not only made you copies of your important papers...it created a storage on it's hard drive of Everything you copied. Tax info, medical, social security numbers...Important stuff. If someone else gets ahold of the printer, they could get all of your information!
hugs
Donna
So busy this past week!
ReplyDeleteI loved A Man Called Otto, too!
Glad LD is all set up with a new computer and printer.
Linda...you always set the prettiest and most festive tables.....speaks of summer...it's so tricky to deal with roofers...never sure who is honest and does quality work anymore....retirement brings on all sorts of thoughts to be more frugal...doesn't it? The gazebo looks like it will bring you months of pleasure....enjoy every minute!
ReplyDeletePerhaps your homeowners' insurance will pay for the roof - if the damage was the result of a storm.
ReplyDeleteWe are in the process of watching that movie too and am so glad you have said it is a good one.
ReplyDeleteYes and amen to what words can do and how they affect those around us.
ReplyDeleteYour sunflower table setting is gorgeous. I would love to sit there and chat and chew with you!!!
We are in the same boat age wise and trying to figure out the remaining years of our lives.
We thank the Lord everyday for our "boys" and their patience and knowledge that has helped us through some dicey times with the house and financial situations.
I thought of you when I posted my new entry on the blog.
Bee-Cause
Sue
The gazebo looks so inviting! I love how beautifully you decorated it and I am sure many guests will find it warm and cozy. LD is such a busy man for his age and I am so glad that he keeps going.
ReplyDeleteEvery season in your home is so inviting. The cheery sunflowers and table setting is so cute. Love the looks of your gazebo. What a darling chandilier.
ReplyDeleteWhat would we do without friends and family to help with the "Technical" stuff. Our grandkids are so smart in this, so we take advantage of their knowledge.
Summer looks so delightful. So glad she is getting this vacation.
Summer is almost upon us, and I can't wait to get into the pool. Don is doing so much better, that today he said he might just join me in the pool when it's warm enough.
We have been able to go to church each week. What a blessing!!
I love all your quotes. To live worthy of being called a Christian is a goal of mine too. Shine where you are planted and give God the Glory!!
Love and Hugs, dear friend.
We just watched Otto night before last and it was our favorite movie over the past few years. Love the sunflowers, I have them today also. enjoy all the NEW gabzebo. looks great except for flies. i do hate thm. God blessed you with Jesse to help with the setups. You have Amber and Jesse and Summer, all ready to jump in and help with whatever needs you have. that is a true blessing. happy to hear LD can still use the computer for his music. bob will be 87 this year also and I will be 79 just before he turns 87.. yikes next year i will be 80 if i make it that far
ReplyDeleteoooooh that last meme is so true...like words putting holes in a fence, the fence will never be the same, even if you try to repair it!!
ReplyDeletesummer looks so happy, she has the most infectious smile, it looks like she is feeling better and doing well!! we enjoyed washington when we visited, there is much to see their!!
your table is beautiful linda, so bright and happy!! the gazebo looks really wonderful...i think those towels would make really pretty pillows. and i know you are handy with a sewing machine!!
i adore that chandelier, more crystals, that never hurt anyone!!
i saw otto available on netflix, we will have to watch it!!